Radcliffe
The Radcliffe family looms large in the history of Atlantis, and at each and every turning point in the history of the continent, a Radcliffe (or a Radcliff) has been present. In 1452, English fisherman Edward Radcliffe accompanied Breton fisherman François Kersauzon to a previously unknown continent. Although Kersauzon had arrived first, it was Radcliffe who saw the potential for settlement. Radcliffe named the island, and collected his immediate family and several neighbours from his hometown of Hastings, and returned to establish a new settlement. Other countries soon followed suit. The Radcliffe legend grew in 1470, when Edward was killed by the exiled Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick. After Edward's sons, Henry and Richard, disposed of the Earl, settlement continued. In the 1660s, Radcliffes changed the course of Atlantean history again as shipping magnate William Radcliff oversaw the demise of his piratical cousin Red Rodney Radcliffe. The following century, Victor Radcliff helped bring about the conquest of French Atlantis. Fourteen years later, he lead his country to independence from Britain. In 1852, Victor's grandson, Frederick, led an insurrection which brought an end to slavery in the United States of Atlantis. These people are relatives and descendants of Edward Radcliffe. At some point in the 16th century, one branch of the family dropped the 'e' from the name. Radcliffe Bertha Radcliffe (Opening Atlantis) Bertha Radcliffe was the wife of Richard Radcliffe and the mother of his children. She followed her husband out of New Hastings, Atlantis and helped found Bredestown.Opening Atlantis, pg. 81. While she was puzzled by husband's lengthy explorations of the interior of Atlantis, Bertha understood her husband quite well.Ibid. In 1470, Bertha informed the newly-returned Richard that the Earl of Warwick had asserted control of New Hastings.Ibid., pgs. 124-128. Bess Radcliffe (OA) Bess Radcliffe was the secondHis wife is intially named Lucy. Opening Atlantis, pg. 23. wife of Henry Radcliffe.Ibid. pg. 80. While she loved her husband, she was acutely aware of the fact that she was in competition with Radcliffe's ship, the Rose.Ibid., pgs. 81-82. Edward Radcliffe See: Edward Radcliffe Ethel Radcliffe See: Ethel Radcliffe Henry Radcliffe See:Henry Radcliffe Hiram Radcliffe See:Hiram Radcliffe Kate Radcliffe Kate Radcliffe was the middle daughter of Edward and Nell. Like her sisters, she was married to a fisherman by 1452.Ibid., p. 29. Lucy Radcliffe (OA) Lucy Radcliffe was the first wife of Henry Radcliffe. In 1452, when Edward Radcliffe decided to settle in Atlantis, Henry raised Lucy as a reason not to make the journey.Ibid., pgs. 23-24. However, Henry finally relented.Ibid., pg. 24. Literary comment Lucy's fate is unclear; see Inconsistencies in Turtledove's Work#Inconsistencies in Atlantis. Marcus Radcliffe See: Marcus Radcliffe Mary Radcliffe Mary Radcliffe was the oldest daughter of Edward and Nell. Like her sisters, she was married to a fisherman by 1452.Ibid., p. 29. Matthew Radcliffe See: Matthew Radcliffe Morris Radcliffe Morris Radcliffe (b. c. 1832) was a Second Lieutenant in the Atlantean Army. In 1852, he reported to Consul Jeremiah Stafford that the Gernikan rebels had agreed to cease hostilities, thus bringing the Atlantean Servile Insurrection to an end. Stafford wondered which branch of the Radcliffe family did Morris spring from, but did not ask.Liberating Atlantis, pp. 425-427. Nell Radcliffe See: Nell Radcliffe Philippa Radcliffe Philippa Radcliffe was the third and youngest daughter of Edward and Nell. Like her sisters, she was married to a fisherman by 1452.Ibid., p. 29. Richard Radcliffe See: Richard Radcliffe Red Rodney Radcliffe See: Red Rodney Radcliffe Radcliff Adam Radcliff (The United States of Atlantis) Adam Radcliff (1761-1764) was the eldest of three children born to Victor and Margaret Radcliff in the years between the French and Spanish War and the Atlantean War of Independence. None of the three survived to see their third birthdays.The United States of Atlantis, pg. 1. Erasmus Radcliff (TUSA) Erasmus Radcliff was a second cousin once removed of Atlantis hero Victor Radcliff.The United States of Atlantis, pg. 9. He lived and worked as a merchant in Hanover, continuing the firm established by his ancestor, William Radcliff.Ibid., pg. 10. Victor Radcliff stayed with Erasmus in the days before the outbreak of the Atlantean War of Independence.Ibid., pgs. 9-17. When Victor Radcliff was able to retake Hanover from British control during the second winter of the war, he used Erasmus's house as his headquarters for the winter. Frederick Radcliff See: Frederick Radcliff Helen Radcliff see: Helen Radcliff Meg Radcliff See: Meg Radcliff Nicholas Radcliff (TUSA, Liberating Atlantis) Nicholas Radcliff (1778 - c. 1805) was the illegitimate son of Atlantean General Victor Radcliff and a Negro slave woman named Louise. He was conceived during the Atlantean War of Independence.The United States of Atlantis, pgs. 311-312. Louise's owner Marcel Freycinet, wrote proudly of Louise's pregnancy to Radcliff, and refused Radcliff's offers to purchase either the mother or the son.Ibid. pgs. 318-319. Nicholas was difficult for Radcliff on several levels. First, there was the problem of Radcliff's adultery - Radcliff's wife Meg was understandably furious.Ibid. pgs. 422-429. Second, the Radcliffs' children had all died in infancy, making Nicholas the only person able to carry on Victor's line.Ibid., pg. 1. Third, after the War, Radcliff was elected as a Consul of Atlantis, and was wary of burdening the new political system with a scandal.Ibid. pg. 434. Fourth, the idea that his only surviving son would grow up a slave gnawed at Radcliff, who, while owning no slaves of his own and finding slavery theoretically distasteful, had previously been largely indifferent to the practice. In the end, Victor neither publicly acknowledged paternity of Nicholas nor privately maintained a relationship with his son. Nicholas' knowledge of his father's identity presumably came from Louise and/or Freycinet. As slaves did not legally have surnames, he used the name Radcliff privately. Nicholas lived his entire life in slavery, and died rather young. He fathered a son of his own. Three years later he stepped on a rusty nail and died of tetanus.Liberating Atlantis, pg. 2. Tamsin Radcliff (OA) Tamsin Radcliff was the wife of William Radcliff.Opening Atlantis, pg. 189. She suffered his frustration with the slow progress of the proposed attack on the Avalon pirates with great patience.Ibid., pgs. 189-190. Months later, when Radcliff's Armada, successfully defeated the pirates, William Radcliff decided it would be in his best interest not to tell Tamsin about his affair with Jenny, his late cousin's paramour.Ibid., pg. 254. Victor Radcliff See: Victor Radcliff William Radcliff See: William Radcliff Others known to be descended from the Radcliffe line * Henry Barford * Sam Duncan * Leland Newton * Jeremiah Stafford References * Radcliffe Radcliffe